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Monday, April 30, 2012

Searching out the Culprit

The past 6 months have been a roller coaster, the biggest being the massive rash that has been on my ankle. Not only was it extremely itchy, it was also red and oozing. Not pretty, and definitely not feeling good. The cause? You would think it would be easy to find... not so much. I knew from previous experience (after each child I became allergic to something new) that I was allergic to different beauty products. I would usually get a large rash on my shin.

First it was soap, I would get hives in the shower. I had to change over to using only Dove beauty bar.

Then it was shampoo and nail polish (I would get white peeling spots on my toe nails). I tried lots of different shampoos, using only ones that didn't have any parabens or sulfates, but they really never moisturized or felt really good on my hair. I don't use nail polish at all anymore.

So for awhile I thought I was okay, I was doing pretty good, so slowly I went back to using the cheaper shampoo and conditioners, I mean, it's really hard on the pocket book (especially when your husband is a full-time student and you are a full-time mom). I didn't seem to have anything bad happen, so I thought it was doing good.

Then I got this rash. I figured it would go away, I just had to cut out some things again. Didn't happen. Normally using an herbal combination called Moducare would help clear it up...it didn't. I tried tea tree oil essential oil on it. It made it ooze. My brother told me to use some hydrocortizone cream, it always works for him. It didn't, but it did make me get spots of rashes on both my feet and hands. So now I had rashes on my ankle, each hand and foot, and they itched like crazy. My body would also start itching, so I had little red spots on the thighs and on my arms. One of the ingriedents in hyrocortizone cream is a paraben, I think that points at one ingredient that is a positive no no for me.I was looking pretty!Oh, by the way the rash on my ankle was probably about a good 3 inches in length and 2 in width on my ankle. Like I said gross and extremely embarrassing!

I had to go to extremes. I've thrown out everything imaginable! I got rid of all of my make-up. I now use Korres foundation, Tart eyeliner and Mascara (not a huge fan of the mascara, I will give something else a try soon), Bare Essentials eyeliner, and I'm using Corn Starch as my facial powder. For my moisturizer I am using Almond Oil, and I am really loving that! My shampoo and conditioner is Alba Organics. I tried quite a few different shampoos and conditioners, Burt's Bee's Gud was one I really don't recommend. The Alba line esepecially the "Drink it up Coconut Milk" line is my favorite. It leaves my hair super soft and I don't have to use a ton of either shampoo or conditioner, and I have medium length (past my shoulders), thick hair. It's not so easy to be able to find something that won't make me use half a bottle before it does what it's supposed to do. With Alba I only have to use about 1 1/2 TBSP. of each and my hair feels great! Alba costs around $10 a bottle, but at least I can get my money's worth from it. I'm using Dr. Bronner's Soap now too, cause Dove seemed to be giving me an issue too. I have some St. Ives lotion that I'm still on the fence about. I've still been getting itchy, but I don't know if it's from the St. Ives or the "Kiss my Face" lotion I have, or something completely different, like my laundry detergent, even though that is Mrs. Meyers which is supposed to be a "natural" product, but who really knows?

I now make my own deoderant from a recipe my friend gave me and that I have tweaked, am planning on doing some chapstick, body lotion, and laundry detergent soon. I was directed to a cool site called Goat Milk Stuff that sells different soaps and products made from goats milk that I am planning on trying really soon.

My rash is finally almost all the way cleared up, thank goodness! I did have a positive result from using Oregano essential oil. It helped dry it up without the oozing and get rid of those gross rash skin, but it really does burn, it was a "dire situation" thing. I wouldn't have continued using it if I hadn't been seeing positive results from it. I wish I had taken a picture of my ankle rash so I could show a before and after, but it was too traumatizing at the time for me to do anything but want to cry when I looked at it! My hands and feet have almost all cleared up too, hopefully it won't be much longer before I look healthy again, especially living in Arizona, I've been lucky that the weather has been decent enough that i can still be comfortable wearing my jeans.

So anyway- that is what my blog is for. I am searching out products and recipes that will help me live a healthier lifestyle. I don't want my kids to go through what I have been going through, and I figure that the first places to start are with my diet and with the products I use that are full of harmful chemicals and ingredients. Hopefully it may help others too who feel as lost as I have during this time.

About Me

I've recently felt the need to share my experiences with others. I thought a blog would be the best way to start that. I am trying really hard to get into a more natural lifestyle, not because I'm a "green" person, but because I want to be able to have products that won't give me adverse reactions, and I want to become more self-reliant. So as I learn, I will share and hopefully others can learn (maybe what not to do) from my experiments.

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